Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the March 17 uh meeting of the planning zoning and the city C city of bont uh if you please uh call the role chairman NAD here commissioner batty present commissioner Jabar present commissioner jabia here commissioner Javed here commissioner Linton here commissioner mon here commissioner noola is absent commissioner Sagar here alternate commissioner sell here thank you thank you ma'am and good afternoon again uh the for the members of the commission you have been sent the minutes of the meeting of February 24th 2025 I would entertain a motion to approve and or any comments to make revisions motion to approve second we have a motion to approve and the second is there any discussion n is hers is uh all in favor say I I and in opposition I guys have it we're going to go to the first uh case of our regular meeting pz20 2547 and uh good afternoon ma'am good afternoon Fitz and Chipman is requesting approval of the preliminary plat for Whispering Heights phase two conditional approval was previously granted in April of 2022 because no final plot has been recorded Ed the pre preliminary plat must come back before the commission uh for another conditional approval because per section 26.0 2.02 c of the code of ordinances preliminary plats have a two-year time limit um so this is the same exact plan um coming before you

it's a 5.5 acre development it's located north of the recently completed rayon Wood Street and will feature 18 new residential lots on the proposed residential street of taher wood and Yasmin wood the proposed residential streets will have a 50ft rideway with 27 ft in pavement width all Lots will Access Point Parkway through the extension of mumtaz Drive Water and Sewer services will be provided by extension of City Utilities planning staff recommends approval of the request with the following conditions number one correct the rideway width and pavement width for mumtaz drive to be in compliance with section 26.03.2013 of the city's code of ordinances number two space street lights to make City to meet City subdivision ordinance requirements revise the street layout plan to meet the city ordinance requirements number three construction plans must meet all requirements by water utilities for the water and sanitary sewer services including any requirements of the city's backflow pre-treatment Andor fog program number four relocate the city the sanitary sewer service connections to be offset from the Telecom and energy easement for blocks 5 through 7 as shown in detail h29 of the submitted construction plan set and number five submit an updated master plan prior to the recordation of this plat um it the item was sent to All interested parties they all reviewed the item on your on the screen is the preliminary platin review and then we also have the uh develop ER or I'm sorry the engineer of record um present great any questions for the lady uh is the applicant in the

audience good afternoon good afternoon my name is uh Bernard o Chan with fits and shipment here in Bowmont at 1405 Cornerstone court on behalf of the um the owner and developer I like to thank you to um appreciate to revise this uh or update this plary plat the construction plans have already been submitted and they're actually under construction it's just the two-year span for the plary plat has expired uh this is the one that you had a uh turn and it was going to Nowhere basically and then the continuation is in the next phase right correct yeah I remember that great uh any questions for the gentlemen none thank you sir okay thank you uh we have uh the applicant and also the report from the staff and uh I'll look for a motion on pz20 2547 motion to approve file pz 22547 second is that with the conditions with the conditions listed five conditions right yes okay we have a motion to approve on a second second second uh is there any discussion all in favor say I I any in opposition eyes have it thank you uh this concludes our regular meeting if you indulg us we're going to wait another five minutes and get started with our uh joint meeting thank you [Laughter] uh somebody said they saw they're not outside the

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well good afternoon again ladies and gentlemen uh we're going to get started with the uh joint meeting of the Planning Commission and the city council um and I would ask the honorable mayor to get us started yes sir Mayor West mayor protim Neil present council member durio is absent council member felshaw council member gets council member Samuel here council member Turner here thank you will thank everybody for coming thank you sir uh we're going to get started with uh pz 2025-the Rebecca Lane located at the intersection of Rebecca Lane and Comstock Road Mr Lucas seeks to change the zoning from residential single family to General commercial multiple family dwelling District or a more restrictive zoning District this request follows a violation notice from the planning department indicating that his business Lucas lawn service and Landscaping is not in compliance with the city's adopted code of or ordinances this application was tabled at the February 24th meeting of the Planning Commission to allow time for the applicant to provide additional information the information requested from the applicant

um was listed in the staff memo um I'll go ahead and read them aloud so first one was how many employees were there uh there's three to five uh office hours are 8 to 4:30 the business has been operating um since early 2025 where where was the business prior to the location um he worked for Alco business began in early 2025 the property owner's occupation to the landscaping business uh or prior to the landscaping business he worked for Alco how long has the property owner been in the landscaping business uh since early 2025 are there any loud noises no they never start equipment there how long is the gate uh along Comstock it's approximately 15 feet um if we were to approve this rezoning request it could result in spot zoning um introducing a highdensity commercial use into a predominantly single family uh residential s or residential single family area this includes surrounding properties such as leer Park to the West the proposed rezoning is not consistent with the comprehensive plan uh of Bowmont uh the comprehensive plan states that this is a stable area uh the definition of that is characterized by good to excellent structural conditions and neighborhoods that are free from blighting influences such as incompatible land uses dilapidated buildings and deteriorated uh infrastructure so this zoning request doesn't align with the zoning immediately surrounding it nor the comprehensive plan the area outline in red we'll go back one slide the area outline in red on the screen is the area under review so they're wanting to change the yellow uh color to a purple color uh within that outlined area aerial image subject prop

property rear of the subject property continued Northwest that's ller Park to the east to the South and to the West uh we sent out 13 property owner notices we receive zero in favor and zero in opposition and I do not believe that the applicant is is here uh I'm sorry planning staff recommends denial of this request okay thank you ma'am any questions for the lady all right folks we discussed this quite at length last time and had given the uh the applican an opportunity to come back and uh State their case and U they're not here so uh I would uh I guess entertain a motion well wait a minute now we do have we do have public comment and uh we need to go ahead and hear from the public is there anybody in the audience that would like to speak for or against this case no public comments so we close the public hearing and with that I would ask for a motion make a motion to deny second we have a motion to deny and a second is there any discussion all in favor say I I any in opposition the eyes have it thank you thank you ma'am we're going to go to pz20 2541 Mohamad tahani is requesting approval of a specific use permit to allow a retail liquor store to be located at 3100 North Major Drive Suite 2100

Tas liquor would be open Monday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and closed on Sundays they will offer sodas drink mixes beer wine and other Spirits staff recommends approval of the requests with the following conditions number one construction plans must meet all requirements by water utilities for water and sanitary sewer services including any requirements of the city's backflow pre-treatment Andor fog program and number two shall comply with all applicable building and fire codes we sent uh 42 property owner not es we receive two in favor favor stating they have no problem whatsoever and then five in opposition opposition stating they already have enough liquor stores the stores are linked with crime the store is too close in proximity to single family homes and children um the area outlin in red on the screen is the area under review um you'll see this property come back they they it's a new development it's it's zoned as gcmd 2 um which means that they're probably going to need a specific use permit for most uh uses that are going to go in there so you'll see this property come up often um aerial image site plan this is the subject property to the north Southwest to the east and west and I believe we have the applicant and property owner present great thank you any questions and the applicant good afternoon if you would state your name and address for the record please and we love to hear any comments you have or additional details that you might be able to provide to us

my name is Tahir Shafi 3100 Nore Major Drive B the shopping center and Mr kareim I'm Kim Tani addressing 3100 North measor Drive site 200 uh we run and operate 18 liquor stores in bmart area and uh throughout the Harden County in know Orange County and uh we requesting this is a great location for liquor store so people don't have to drive Cross Street go towards dvin Road and all that so we going to provide them over there selling liquor soda water providing all the needed stuff for the liquor stores all right uh some of the complaints or the people who uh send notices against your project is the noise and also that the store would bring Crime to the neighborhood do you have any comments so far we don't have any particular crime in any of our store Nos soever and uh there is no noise customer comes nice customer comes is suited customers and all we have no complaints no police record so far in any of our stores all right any questions for the gentlemen I have one um do you guys plan on installing a security camera system any other questions thank you sir uh we open the floor for public hearing is there anybody in the audience that would like to speak for or against this case nobody so uh we closed the public hearing we heard from the staff and also

the uh the applicant he answered a couple of comments that we had uh by the mail and uh I would entertain a motion a motion to approve with two condition second we have a motion to approve and a second any discussion all in favor say I and in opposition the eyes have it thank you well great now we do have a presentation I believe that you have yes good okay so there was a buzz re thank you guys there was a buzz uh regarding an Entertainment District recently um so I'm going to discuss the key characteristics um differences and overlap overlapping aspects of the comprehensive plan um uh why don't you wait let this fellas okay um so there was a buzz recently regarding entertainment districts um so I'm going to discuss the key uh characteristics differences and overlapping aspects between the comprehensive plan entertainment districts and planning studies um and hopefully to receive some feedback from y'all and also Council on a um favorable path forward so to start our City's comprehensive plan has not been updated since 2003 uh staff is Seeking a grant through the general land office to fund this and we're hopeful to be recipients in the near future uh typically a comprehensive plan should be updated every 5 years or as needed to adapt to the development needs of the city um so a comprehensive plan is a longrange plan for a community's future and it covers a wide range of topics such as land use Transportation housing infrastructure Economic Development and Environmental Protection it also provides the foundation for land use

regulations zoning ordinances and other decisions related to development and infrastructure planning studies are intended to be guiding documents for development and Zoning regulation these studies analyze existing regulations propose changes and propose changes to accommodate development while still addressing Community concerns some key elements of a planning study involve land use analysis infrastructure planning Community engagement and environmental impact assessments next uh what is an Entertainment District it's def a defined area that focuses on nightlife Leisure sporting indoor cultural activities common features of those are restaurants bars theaters uh live music uh these areas typically include walkable streets enhanced public spaces uh zoning regulations that support extended business hours and entertainment uses uh good examples of entertainment districts are Times Square Bourbon Street San Antonio's Riverwalk um areas like that so there's some differences uh between planning studies and districts um and they're largely driven by timing of implementation so the purpose of an entertainment District enhance nightlife cultural activities planning study is to guide the development and Zoning key elements of each so for entertainment districts is businesses public spaces events uh for a planning study land use infrastructure and policy uh implementation of a Entertainment District is generally uh private sector driven with public support support uh planning study is normally government l so that we can seek Community input uh the duration for an Entertainment District is continuous uh planning study is is temporary assessment leading to policy

changes and then there's also some overlapping aspects so development is shaped and guided by a comprehensive plan planning studies shape and guide development entertainment districts are shaped and guided by planning studies Andor comprehensive plan plans so typically your districts are produced by a strong uh comprehensive plan or planning study to then guide towards your comprehensive plan so downtown as a Entertainment District um so the central business district it has the bones um definitely for regarding regarding to existing infrastructure and the Aesthetics of it um especially when you think of Orleans Street um kind of a prominade uh with business uh businesses that are fronting the streets establishment of a district is typically derived from a public private partnership and further private investors must see a public investment to attract such districts as these developments typically come in uh as million to multi-million dollar Investments so I want to talk about some of the things that city of balmont has done um initiative wise uh in downtown for re revitalization uh to date so the first is public improvements right now we're in the um process of restoring Riverfront Park um Calder Avenue was improved I believe it was in 2013 around that time um public investment uh acquisition and demolition of 555 Main Street we established a turs um improve or we're improving Economic Development incentives uh trying to get the word out there for developers that they can capitalize on these um incentives that we have instead of it being um uh I guess less visible we want it to be more visible we want everyone to know that that's there but they we also have a Main Street program that was established

in 1991 they uh any in the commercial historic uh District um downtown district um anyone who wants to uh improve their building uh there's facade grants out there and so we connect you with the executive director Tom Bell to um help you seek those those grants um that's normally through um historic uh tax credit incentives um we also the city also established a strategic strategic plan um and there's also the 235 plan that's out there so vibrant downtown Waterfront prominade um including an indoor outdoor shopping and dining experiences those kinds of things and again a lot of this is very much so in infan infancy stage um so improving Public Safety um to we we're trying to improve Public Safety so by doing that it's an increase enforcement of property codes or maintenance codes downtown we adopted the vacant building registry for the central business district and the lower Calder uh area um the idea behind the lower C cder area is that's more of a Gateway into downtown so that needs to be vibrant as well um we've recently uh addressed some zoning regulations so amending the permitted use table um that came in late 2024 I believe it was in November um we expanded the uses that are allowed by right within the central business district trying to lessen um lessen uh red tape where we can where it makes sense where it's sensible um increasing the housing uses that are um allowed in the central business district um so you guys were successful in doing that so looking to the Future um public realm improvements um we also and so by public realm improvements we've acquired um we've acquired 555 Main and a lot of

that is um to Riverfront expansion or potential to Riverfront expansion um and by that I mean the park not necessarily A Riverfront um but the park uh by showing that we're we're doing these kinds of improvements um we're able to we're able to show the private sector um that we are actually investing and wanting to um wanting to change the scope of downtown and there's also a Hotel feasibility study that is being conducted and we anticipate the results of that to come back in April of this year um the city's economic development manager Christina Loki is looking to improve our current neighborhood empowerment Zone policy to offer increased incentives um I also want to point out that entertainment districts are not always just for entertainment there there's a rise of innovation districts there's a rise of cultural districts art districts um all those kinds of things and so since we're in the very infancy stage of revitalization I do encourage and urge um commission and Council to keep their options open so that we can find exactly what the community needs by way of the comprehensive plan process um and again I I mentioned the hotel I mentioned the 2035 plan this this is all infancy whether it were to go that way whether it were not to go that way I want to make sure that we are establishing um studies districts through the comprehensive plan allowing that to be a guiding portal um for us um so in conclusion uh the establishment of a district is ideal in conjunction with an updated comprehensive plan and to drive that or and a drive within the private sector for it in the meantime I want to assure ensure that we address Community concerns and encourage growth we should proceed with a planning study and use that as a guiding document while we seek funding for our comprehensive plan again through the GL we have

submitted an application for that so we hope to hear from them soon um for example the city receives a specific use permit um and the planning study should be used to evaluate the request to guide the commission and Council to a sound decision whether they should be there or whether they should not um and so with that um I just want to ensure that the city remains strategic um in its planning efforts towards downtown revitalization um so at this time time uh staff does recommend that we move forward with initiating a planning study to ensure that we align with that comprehensive plan rather than establishing a district downtown I think that there is um I think there's potential for it there definitely is potential for it but we want to be strategic in what kind of district downtown does it have to be entertainment can we do an Innovative Innovation District can we do Cultural Arts whatever the the city wants and with that with that comprehensive Plan update there is going to be a lot of community engagement so that we can get the stakeholder input and and Implement exactly what they want um down here because it is after all their quality of life the C the the citizens that are here so we want to deliver what what they want to see um so with that I am requesting any feedback from y'all um from Council um if you guys are okay with me moving forward on a planning study versus trying to um immediately roll out a district um those kinds of things any questions sounds like a great idea okay cool yeah I'd like to know what are the uh the boundaries of the district yeah so right now let me actually is this connected to the internet I'll have Elena pull up the um

zoning map um so the district in my mind if there were a district to be implemented it would be concentrated um to you know a few streets or maybe even less um typically you close those streets off during a certain period of time um so that it's walkable it's safe for everyone that's enjoying that area um so it won't be the entirety of the central business district which is what I'm trying to show you guys on here um because the central business district is rather large um or larger than we think so it would be really concentrated to probably closer to our commercial Historic downtown um district and I say our but that's really a uh uh Texas historic commission um initiated District so the state well she's looking for that is this all contingent on the funding from a grant from Glo or you have other funding no so a planning study can be done with the existing staff that I have but a comprehensive Plan update that's that's a very um it's a massive uh process it it really is a a driving plan for like uh infrastructure Economic Development zoning it it really is is multi-departmental um so that's what we're seeking funding for to allow us to or produce an RFP to go get a uh professional consultant to help us through that process and make sure that we do do it right um and uh so we've we've uh submitted an application to the Glo for about $300,000 and we're hopeful to receive that money um I do know that if we were to be uh given that we have 24 months to complete the comprehensive plan so that's kind of a timeline should we get that um should we get that funding and that always can be lessened but um or the time can always be lessened but that's how long we have to expend those

funds but the preliminary study that you're proposing or you're asking can be done with your current staff I'm sorry they studied that you're ask asking for the preliminary one can be done with your own St it can it can and really the the main thing is that I want to I want to do the planning study so it can guide our decisions via specific use permit um all rezoning requests all those kinds of things that can be done with existing staff um but to do the comprehensive I want that planning study to be in place um before we establish a district I think a district is going to be more private sector driven um than than public sector the planning stud study is going to be more public sector to ensure that we set up um set up the opportunity for a district whether that be an entertainment whether that be an innovation cultural you know any kind of District because there really is a uh there really is a turn here recently um it where entertainment districts are not just for sports bars and live music um it's it's really starting to become a uh become a lot more than just that well I encourage you to put this on City council's agenda and and get approval it sounds like something that's worthwhile or at least is going to get us started when you get your uh your funding you would be able to you have the pre-work done already yeah yeah any other comments from the commission is this going to be patterned after one particular City I know you listed several or how are you going to determine right now for the planning study I'm really going to look at what what is our existing Community concern some of them is or some of it is like uh live music venues that are near residential areas how can we help mitigate that until we bring in or or

update our comprehensive plan to match that that development um what is what does our zoning look like um in certain areas does that need to be amended what does uh what are some of the really what are some of the challenges that we're facing and so by doing that we're basically going to go through a lot of the special or sorry specific use permit requests evaluating how did that affect um certain things where are areas where it's not going to be a specific use request how can we help mitigate those issues that arise on areas that are allowed by right um you know it it really is going to be a in-depth um an in-depth look a lot of it will be conducted by me and my planning staff have you you guys done a uh Lessons Learned From Crockett Street uh I mean that used to be a great start and it was apparent that it had a lot of management issues but uh is there official study to show why that thing didn't progress like it it was planned for it to be there's no official study but that's one of the things that we would need to look at in this planning study um I I understand some of the challenges I wasn't necessarily here but I understand or have heard some of the challenges that arose from that so that's definitely something to look at at the time it looked like an awful promising thing and then he just kept going down so yeah it it would be interesting to to do a Lessons Learned From that project yeah they spend a lot of money on it any comments from the council adin's just dying to say something will the uh community be involved in helping with the planning yeah I'm sure that we we'll have at at one point a

community input um I know specifically for downtown like we'll invite um I plan on inviting uh property owners and also uh tenants um to a meeting so that we can like address some of the challenges or um get a better understanding so that we can produce a guide that will that will help okay I'd like to say that I was a part of the Crockett Street project when it came to town so if you need any information from me I can certainly benefit you I will be calling you all right fantastic thank you for taking this on I think it's great it sounds like a great way to move forward okay good deal great thank you very much Mr Mayor uh we're done for today sir yeah I mean almost record time but almost record time but did you say we were a Jour you did say that I'm I'm sitting until you say it